Crisis Cleanup Training

Please Take a Minute to Complete a Short Training

Mandatory Training Video

Test Your Crisis Cleanup Knowledge!

Take this quick poll to see how much you understand about Crisis Cleanup.

1. You can use Crisis Cleanup to do donations management, case management, logistics, etc.

False
True

Incorrect.

Correct!

Crisis Cleanup is a collaborative cleanup management system; it is not "The One App to Rule them All." Crisis Cleanup is designed to coordinate large numbers of volunteers to large numbers of locations to perform property cleanup and remediation work. Donations management, case management, volunteer management, assets management, logistics, etc. are each a vital part of disaster recovery, but outside the scope of Crisis Cleanup.

2. How much does Crisis Cleanup cost?

An arm and a leg.
Free.
Your firstborn child.
$1,000 per year.

Incorrect.

Correct!

Crisis Cleanup is currently free to disaster recovery organizations.

3. Crisis Cleanup should be used primarily by field workers.

False
True

Incorrect.

Correct!

Field work powers the Crisis Cleanup database. Crisis Cleanup was designed to optimize efforts of team leaders and field workers. Although the system is a useful coordination and management tool, the life blood of Crisis Cleanup is the field worker. Crisis Cleanup assists workers to plan, prioritize, and execute property remediation activities. As a result, if the system is not actively used in the field, it is also useless as a coordination and management tool.

Every time you perform an assessment.
Whenever ordered by the VOAD or state government.
Only on Tuesdays at high tide.
Only when convenient for you.

Incorrect.

Correct!

Crisis Cleanup utilizes a "Craigslist" philosophy to disaster recovery. Organizations that know of a need enter the information, and organizations with capacity claim the cases at their convenience. We certainly encourage coordination with other voluntary organizations, state, and county government officials, but Crisis Cleanup will never force you to perform work. You're in charge. See Intro Video.

6. Always store as much sensitive personal information in Crisis Clean up as possible. Hint

Only organizations approved by the state government.
Only members of a state, national, or county VOAD.
Unaffiliated individuals and volunteers.
Any reputable non-profit recovery organization that interacts directly with survivors in cleanup efforts.

Incorrect.

Correct!

Crisis Cleanup has a bias for inclusion, but only reputable organizations that interact directly with survivors in cleanup efforts may participate. Individual volunteers may not access Crisis Cleanup. See Requirements for Participation.

8. You are responsible for updating completed or partially completed cases. Hint

False
True

Incorrect.

Correct!

Crisis Cleanup utilizes a decentralized "Craigslist" approach to disaster recovery. No single centralized organization is in charge, so we expect you to clean up after yourself. Please be sure to update the status to "Closed" when the case is completed. Managing the work load will be much easier if you permit all of your team leaders to update Crisis Cleanup themselves.

9. Who is in charge of Crisis Cleanup?

The state, county, or local government.
National or State VOADs.
You.This guy. (Hint: Wrong answer :-)

Incorrect.

Correct!

Crisis Cleanup works a lot like Craigslist--Craig keeps the servers running, but the community is in charge of powering the system. Although you may report to county and state governments and other organizations in real life, no single organization is in charge of Crisis Cleanup. Everybody works together toward a common goal. Crisis Cleanup operates on the principle of Collaborative Accountability: When interdependent, co-equal partners pressure and assist one another to accomplish a goal. See Is Crisis Cleanup a Good Fit?

10. You may unclaim a case if you do not have the resources to perform the work. Hint

11. All participating organizations can see what all of the other organizations are doing.

True
False

Incorrect.

Correct!

Crisis Cleanup makes coordination not only required, but easy. Every participating organization can see what the others are doing, significantly improving coordination and communication.

12. Who may enter cases?

Any member of the public.
Any participating organization, including your own.
Only 2-1-1 or other authorized call-in centers.
Only your state VOAD or system administrator.

Incorrect.

Correct!

To preserve confidentiality, only reputable organizations that interact directly with survivors in cleanup efforts may participate in Crisis Cleanup. Any participating organization may perform assessments and enter cases into the system. While Crisis Cleanup may accept preliminary damage assessment information from the public sometime in the future, it does not currently.

13. What should you do if a fellow relief organization doesn't do a case they've claimed?

Fill out a trouble ticket.
Nothing.
Break their kneecaps.
Contact that organization to see how you can help, and find out what's going on.

Incorrect.

Correct!

In every disaster some organizations claim cases they can't fulfill, or fail to complete necessary paperwork. Technology won't solve that problem, but Crisis Cleanup does allow you to see the problem for the first time. And because you can see the problem, you can fix the problem by leveraging relationships and supporting fellow relief agencies.

You can always download a CSV or Excel file with all cases, for your records and to run reports.

15. Each user is responsible to keep his/her own passwords secure.

True
False

Incorrect.

Correct!

Please visit the Reset Password page if your password has been compromised.

16. You may use Crisis Cleanup for case management.

False
True

Incorrect.

Correct!

Crisis Cleanup is designed for multi-agency, collaborative cleanup management. It is not designed to store sensitive personal information or be used for case management. See Training Video and Client Data Collection Policy.

17. Each organization should have one primary user.

False
True

Incorrect.

Correct!

Crisis Cleanup is designed for volunteer leaders on the ground. After you log in, invite all members of your team to Crisis Cleanup from the Dashboard.

18. What is the easiest way to get a list of cases and run reports? Hint

Email Crisis Cleanup and ask us to run a special report.
Download a CSV or Excel file with all of the cases, so you can create your own reports.
Copy each case from the screen with a pen and paper.
Print each case, one by one. Then hire highly trained orangutanes to analyze the data.

Incorrect.

Correct!

We encourage each participating organization to download their cases and run regular reports for county governments, OEMs, and other VOAD members. Please don't ask us to run reports for you. See the Help Article and Blog Post on inter-organization stats/reports.

Advanced Questions

As many as you can.
Wait, I can claim cases?
No more than your team can finish in six days.
Claim all of them, and assign them to other organizations.

Incorrect.

Correct!

In general, only claim cases that you can complete in a few days. Never claim cases more than six days in advance. Never claim large numbers of cases in an area unless you intend to complete them all within six days at the most. Unclaim cases right away if you cannot complete them. Often there are multiple relief organizations who are available to help; claiming cases weeks in advance delays service and cause volunteers to wait for no good reason.

20. What should you do before showing up at a site?

Call the resident before arriving.
Ensure you take proper equipment.
Make sure you have claimed the case in Crisis Cleanup.
All of the above.

Incorrect.

Correct!

Claim the case to decrease the likelihood of duplication. Ensure that the resident is present before driving there, and that they still need help. Arrive self-contained. When you are done, mark the case closed.

No more than one or two people per organization.
All trusted members of your organization who will interact with survivors.
Any unvetted member of the public who wants to help.
It doesn't matter, as long as you invite your dog.

Incorrect.

Correct!

You should invite as many trusted volunteers and staff as possible to ensure that case information is updated, and that volunteers can quickly and effectively organize. On one hand, experience has shown that organizations with few users are never able to update cases. On the other hand, you should never invite untrusted members of the public.

22. What should you do with debris?

Pile debris on a public right-of-way (as neatly as you can).
Become familiar with your local jurisdiction's rules for sorting garbage (e.g. separate compost, paint, batteries, etc.)
Bag messy debris, such as wet drywall.
All of the above.

Incorrect.

Correct!

Many jurisdictions will not carry away trash unless it is bagged, sorted, and placed on a public right-of-way (like the street or sidewalk).

23. When you join Crisis Cleanup, you should add cases your organization has already completed.

True.
False.

Incorrect.

Correct!

If you started working before using Crisis Cleanup, be sure to add the cases for a few reasons: 1. It will decrease the likelihood of duplication. 2. This list will be available to long-term recovery groups who can help the survivor for months or years to come. 3. It feels good to see a lot done on the map.

24. If a reputable sister organization visits your area and asks you what to do, you should:

Encourage them to register for Crisis Cleanup so they can manage their own work.
Claim cases in Crisis Cleanup, then assign them to the sister organization; have them report to you.
Force all of their volunteers to work under your organization.
Tell them to go home because you'll take care of everything.

Incorrect.

Correct!

Crisis Cleanup fails at the point of centralization. If you try to be in charge of another organization (e.g. a sister church), their volunteers will waste a lot of time, the paperwork will get lost, and you will be overworked with trying to track them down and get their reports. Just let them log in themselves.

25. When removing drywall after a flood, you should:

Cut it in a neat, straight line at 4 or 8 feet above the ground.
Knock out just the visibly wet part of the drywall.
Leave the power on, and use a saw to cut through the drywall.
Knock out the drywall with just a hammer.

Incorrect.

Correct!

Water can seep up 18-24 inches above the visible water line. When you remove drywall, please cut it on a straight line at 4 or 8 feet, even if there was only 3 inches of water. When drywall is replaced, workers always replace entire sheets, which are 4x8 feet. Using just a hammer leaves jagged edges that will need to be trimmed later. Beware of live electrical wires inside of walls. Remove drywall screws if you can. When possible, leave a note explaining what your organization did. Help residents know that mold remediation takes several weeks, and they should not replace drywall immediately.

26. When you encounter a stressed, frustrated, or unreasonable volunteer from another organization,

Listen carefully and reflect back what you hear, without becoming defensive.
Be patient. And maybe give them a hug. Or cookies.
Remember that disasters are, by definition, overwhelming. So if you or they are feeling overwhelmed, you're probably doing it right.
All of the above.

Incorrect.

Correct!

Be patient with colleagues from other organizations, and know they are doing the best they can. They want to help, just like you.

27. If you see an icon that is out of place on the map, you should move it to the correct location.

True.
False.

Incorrect.

Correct!

To move an icon, click edit, drag it to the correct location, and click "Save."

Media Coverage

Want to help?

Crisis Cleanup is open source and powered mostly by dedicated volunteers. Support Crisis Cleanup with a
monthly pledge. If you are a Ruby / PostgreSQL programmer, check out the Crisis Cleanup
Github repositoryand contact us